Titus Bramble breathed a huge sigh of relief after his late goal gave Ipswich fresh hope in this Uefa Cup match.

Titus Bramble breathed a huge sigh of relief after his late goal gave Ipswich fresh hope in this Uefa Cup match.

The Ipswich defender had made a mistake in the build-up to the Russian visitors' 14th-minute opener - scored by Dmitry Vyasmikin.

But he atoned by slamming in a leveller five minutes from time in the first leg clash at Portman Road.

That goal preserved the Ipswich's proud unbeaten home record in European competition - now stretching to 26 matches - and gives them something to build on in next week's second leg in Moscow. The 21-year-old said: "I was disappointed with the first goal but the lads battled back well.

"It didn't matter who scored, we just needed one - but one more would have been good to take to Russia with us.

"But after seeing what we did tonight I don't see why we can't go there and win.

"I was nervous at the start but as the game went on the more confident I got, it was one of the biggest games of my life."

Ipswich boss George Burley added: "Titus is a young player who is learning at the moment, he made a mistake but he kept going, worked hard and scored a very good equaliser.

"It's a learning process in Europe and he didn't drop his head."

Ipswich hit the woodwork three times on a frustrating night in Suffolk and last season's top scorer Marcus Stewart placed his penalty wide after Pablo Counago was adjudged to have been fouled.

Burley added: "We kept working hard and created a number of chances and their keeper also made some very good saves.

"But as I said before this game, nothing would be decided after the first leg - and the second leg promises to be a very exciting game.

"We showed some very good signs tonight but once again I was disappointed with our defending, we are giving a goal away every game and we have to eradicate that."

Torpedo goalscorer Vyasmikin also had a goal ruled out for offside by Turkish referee Orhan Erdemir, infuriating the Russian side's boss Vitali Shevchenko. "Our plan of defending and counter-attacking worked and would have been even more successful if the referee hadn't ruled out that goal for offside," said Shevchenko.

"It was not a penalty and the referee was a disgrace. He either wanted to help Ipswich or he cannot referee."